Home sales in Moose Jaw increased by five per cent in October compared to 2020, while year-to-date sales are 26 per cent higher than last year, according to the Saskatchewan Realtors Association (SRA).
There were 61 sales in the Moose Jaw region — SRA has stopped reporting sales by city — last month, which was three more compared to October 2020, SRA’s latest report said. Year-to-date (YTD), there have been 760 sales in the region, which is 198 more sales compared to last year to this time.
There were 103 new homes listed in October, which was 18 more listings compared to last October. Year-to-date, there have been 1,228 homes listed, which is 74 more listings compared to last year.
The inventory of homes available for sale declined last month by 11 per cent to 384 units versus 427. Year-to-date, inventory stood at 398 homes, a decline of 16 per cent from 462 units.
There were 6.3 months of supply available in October, which declined from 7.2 months of supply. Year-to-date, there have been 5.24 months of supply of homes available, which is a decline of 33 per cent from 6.9 months of supply last year.
The average price of a home was $188,420, which is a decline of 10 per cent compared to last October. Year-to-date, the average home has cost $220,952, an increase of three per cent over last year.
Provincial outlook
“While provincial sales eased this month compared to last year, there were a few regions that saw some modest gains. On a year-to-date basis, every region throughout the province recorded sales that were not only higher than last year but well above long-term averages,” the SRA said.
“Strong sales combined with less inventory has caused the months of supply to decline across most regions in the province this year.”
A total of 1,306 homes were sold across Saskatchewan in October. This was a year-over-year decline of 4.2 per cent, an increase of 26.4 per cent year-to-date and 18.1 per cent higher than the 10-year average.
There were 1,914 new listings last month, which was a year-over-year decline of 5.3 per cent, a year-to-date increase of 7.3 per cent and a decline of 9.9 per cent compared to the 10-year average.
Inventory stood at 6,836 units available, which was a year-over-year decline of 10.5 per cent and below the 10-year average by 18.8 per cent.
The residential benchmark price of a home stood at $284,500, a year-over-year increase of 4.6 per cent.
“Despite challenges with the pandemic, housing demand in the province has remained exceptionally strong, as many purchasers are looking to take advantage of the very low lending rates,” said SRA CEO Chris Guerette.
One of the single biggest issues facing the Canadian real estate market — including in Saskatchewan — is the declining housing supply, she continued. The MLS System shows the number of residential properties available for sale has fallen below 100,000 for the first time; that number was 250,000 six years ago.
“To tackle the supply and affordability issues, all levels of government need to ensure (that) adequate housing opportunities are available for Saskatchewanians across the housing spectrum,” Guerette said.
“We are recommending policies that address those issues, like including clauses in infrastructure bilateral agreements with provincial and territorial partners to encourage and incentivize the creation of more housing supply and increased recruitment of immigrants to our province.”
